Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wall Stories: Traditional Indian Wall Decor

How have you been? I missed talking to you lovely people a lot and that's why I took some time out from my super busy schedule and I am glad that I did it because it worked as a stress buster!!

Today's blog is a very special one as I had been planning to do this blog since ages but my work kept me from executing it.

This blog is about "Wall Decor". Walls in a home are considered as a blank canvas and we fill this canvas to reflect our personalities. Wall decor is not only about decorating and putting up beautiful things or expensive paintings, it's definitely a lot more than that. Wall in a home speaks volume about homeowner's personality. If done right, it tells a story, brings back a lot of memories, invites you to linger in front of it and makes a house a home. Sometimes I wonder, how different people have different design philosophies and using this philosophy they transform their spaces into the sweetest memory of their lives. So I asked some like-minded people to share an image of such wall in their homes that describes who they are and guess what, I got a phenomenal response and have to make a series of this "Wall Stories" blog. This is the first blog in this series and spotlight is on the walls with bright colors or neutral walls with bright colored paintings interspersed with Indian arts and crafts and surrounded by a lot of Indianness hence the name "Traditional/Ethnic Indian Walls".Before we go ahead and soak in the beauty of these beautifully done walls, I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to my gang of girls who promptly replied to my messages and made this blog possible. Thanks for being a good sport you all are just awesome <3 Now the fun begins. Below are the images of walls with personal touches and a story associated with that wall shared by homeowner herself. You can click on the name of each contributor to check out their Instagram account for loads of inspirations. Chitra's Traditional Indian Wall: "I grew up in a traditional/religious family and we gathered around the prayer room to pray as a family everyday. I wanted to carry this tradition with my own family. I have been blessed to design and create my very own pooja room. With family heirlooms and handpicked gifts from grandparents and parents, almost all the pieces here tell a story. This is where I come to feel blessed and rejuvenated."

Image: Chitra Seetharaman

Shalu's Ethnic Indian Wall:"When I first started working in my home studio, I always wanted to have a wall dedicated to my Tanjore paintings. So I did up this wall with my Tanjore paintings done over a period of years. I call this the "Tanjore Wall " It's an inspiration wall for me & for people who are interested in this art."

"The image is of my entryway foyer. This wall has undergone many transformations since we moved into our current home. And every element on the wall comes with a little story - from the massive brass Tara bust in the yellow niche I managed to procure after 3 long years to the brass conches on the side of the sports cabinet to the carved jharokhas...this wall has really grown with me and my decor sensibilities. I love fusing traditional Indian decor with modern interiors."

"My collection of ganeshas started while we were living in Hyderabad. I had ganeshas in various materials and mediums all over our home. But I always wanted a wall to be dedicated to my favourite God, and I was able to do that when we moved to Gurgaon. By then I had made a Tanjore and many other paintings depicting Lord Ganesha in myriad forms. Interspersed with a few other elements like the brass prabhavalis, Tibetan bead belt, a metal sun and a wood carving, my gallery wall was complete."

"I have made an attempt to depict the vintage grandeur of Heritage buildings.I have copied these pictures from the Victorian collection by Charles Keith.The freehand sketches are paired with African tribal masks."

Image: Parul Chaturvedi

"I have turned a blank run of wall space into a gallery of Indian God Ganesha in various mudras.These pieces were made with nothing more than a couple canvases and oil paints---"DIY project....My Artwork".Since I have a large wall, I have hung these paintings at various heights.Matching frames give a casual yet sophisticated look.It creates a pleasant visual effect just at the entrance of my home."

"From the very beginning, I wanted this wall to be different from the rest of my home.This is one wall that kind of connects two of our bedrooms. I wanted it to give out a very traditional Indian vibe.

The first step we took while creating this feature wall was to highlight the wall. It has a ragging effect with a combo of yellow and olive green."

Image: Sangitha Anand

"Next, came the wooden Jharokha... added a cow head from Kerala and a brass Drishtimukht on the jharokha which are the symbols of prosperity and believed to ward off bad omen!

I did wait patiently for many days to complete the look and then came the hanging brass diyas on either side. With some more bronze utility vessels, placed on the floor like the 'Kooja'- used for carrying milk or water in olden times, the 'kodam' for water and the 'nelpara' which is the traditional paddy measuring unit in Kerala, I felt I had arrived at the perfect scheme that I desired!

In between, I keep moving the 'Dashavatara' unit with few greens on them to change the look from time to time.

Eventually, this is how it looks now and am super proud the way this wall has turned out!"

"I have a very strange love affair with paintings that have open doors and windows in them. They speak to me more than any other art does. Over the year I have accumulated a lot of art and when I moved to my new home, I decided to dedicate a wall for them. Hanging them on a white wall wasn't looking very exciting. So I picked a background color from one of the paintings and changed the wall color and it suddenly brightened up the whole space for me"

"The wall remains the central point of my living room which actually has now become the first look attraction for anybody entering the house. The vibrant signature wall has been an uplift with the Shrinathji painting and few ethnic artefacts and décor around. My very own talented painters helped in doing the colouring and texture. Terracotta color with rustic metallic gold finish comes to life with the lights coming out of the shades in the room. I have personally cherished doing up the wall very much."

"My feature wall is in a long hallway which connects our living room with the bedrooms. This area is difficult to photograph as it is narrow. To work my way around this and add interest, I have tried to create a vista which ends in a focal point. On one side of the corridor are my collection of masks and favourite objects and at the far end of the corridor is a focal point featuring a bright artwork.

At the very end of the hallway is this wall with Indian inspired elements. A bright painting which I did (a copy of Late Shri. S.H.Raza's work) is the focal point. Under this painting is my collection of brass objects. I keep rotating these too."

"My passion for home decor took a stage when we bought our new home & since then I have been unstoppable!! Our new home has unleashed the designer in me. Decorating, to me is therapeutic and this has elevated my creativity.

I enjoy home decor in all its origin & forms, while Indian decor is something that connects me to my roots. Indian art & decor interests me and Tanjore paintings tops it all."

Image: Padma

"The mirror seen on thewallis a loot from a moving sale from a lady which she imported from Italy two decades ago. I loved it the moment I saw. Lucky me, her loss is my gain!

The Krishna pictures are from a calendar that was laminated. This one makes me nostalgic, tracing back 14 years, during my newly married days, where I was looking for inexpensive options to deck up our first home."

Image: Padma

Hope you enjoyed this blog as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. Next in this "Wall Stories" series are blogs on "Contemporary Wall Decor", "Wall Of Masks" and "Wall Of Memories".